John Kleinig

Rev. Dr. John Kleinig is an esteemed theologian who is a pastor of the Lutheran Church of Australia. He is also a professor emeritus at the Australian Lutheran College in the University of Divinity, Adelaide, Australia. In addition to being a published author, Rev. Kleinig has taught pastors and missionaries serving in various countries, including the United States, Canada, New Guinea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, India, and South Africa.

What sparked your interest in the Book of Hebrews?

When I was young, my home congregation was called Pilgrims’ Lutheran Church after the description of the patriarchs as pilgrims and strangers in Hebrews 11:13. The fascinating image of human life as a pilgrimage from earth to heaven first sparked my interest in this book. But it was only much later that I studied it more closely in connection with a Bible study for a national pastors conference, a course on worship in the New Testament, and then, much more comprehensively, as part of a commentary for Concordia Publishing House on Leviticus.

What unique contribution does Hebrews make to our understanding of who Jesus is?

This written sermon teaches us about the exalted Lord Jesus as our anointed High Priest who mediates between us and God in the Divine Service. He brings the holy gifts of God to us on earth and brings us together with Himself into God’s holy presence in heaven.

How does Hebrews relate to the worship practice of the corporate church? How does it relate to the holy life of Christians?

The author of Hebrews teaches his congregation about their participation in the heavenly service together with Jesus, the angels, all Christians around the world, and the whole communion of saints, as they listen to God’s Word and receive Holy Communion. Through His holy body and blood, Christ makes and keeps them holy. They, thereby, are holy people who share in God’s holiness as they stand before Him in the heavenly sanctuary.

How would you summarize the Book of Hebrews in ten words or less?

Through Jesus, we have access to heaven here on earth.

Let’s talk about your writing process. How does writing a commentary differ from other writing projects you’ve completed?

It was much more demanding linguistically, exegetically, and imaginatively than anything else I have studied. Its use of Greek is much more sophisticated and nuanced than any other book in the New Testament. Its interpretation of texts from the Greek Old Testament is very exacting and yet quite surprising. Its constant comparison of the Divine Service in the church with the Divine Service in the Old Testament stretched my imagination to the point of dazzled amazement.

What were some unique challenges you faced while completing this project, and how did you overcome them? What did you enjoy most about writing this commentary?

Initially, I had some difficulty in following the chain of argument in this written sermon because the grammar and syntax of the text was so complex. But I overcame that in two ways. First, I learned how to use Wallace’s Greek Grammar: Beyond the Basics. Then, after I had done the initial linguistic spade work, I began to read it out loud to myself to discover how it did not just appeal to the understanding of its hearers but also their emotions and religious imagination. I enjoyed writing this commentary much more than anything else I have written because I did not have to write it on the run in snippets, but could, due to my retirement, devote my full attention to it for seven years.

Let’s talk about your life in ministry. When and why did you decide to enter the ministry?

I always had a vague sense that I was called to be a pastor, but it was only when I was an undergraduate student of the humanities at Adelaide University that it became clear to me that I would never be happy doing anything else, but would drift restlessly through life, like Jonah trying to escape God’s call to preach to the people of Nineveh.

What have been some of your greatest joys in serving as a pastor and theologian?

I have enjoyed teaching the whole of the Bible relevantly to young and old, caring for people pastorally with God’s Word in the highs and lows of their lives, and leading people reverently in worship together with Jesus.

For the Christian who is a bit intimidated by a large commentary, yet desires a deeper understanding of Scripture, how would you recommend they dive into this volume? It seems like people often reserve commentaries for pastors and theologians, but how would this volume benefit every student of God’s Word?

I would advise them to read the “Translation” carefully, skip the “Textual Notes” that deal with technical matters, as well as the section on “Context, Syntax, Style, and Structure,” and go straight to the last two parts on “Analysis” and “Reception and Application.”

As pastors, teachers, moms, dads, and students read your commentary, what is one important message you wish your readers to take away from this volume?

I would like them to rejoice that they have access to God’s presence and His gifts to them whenever they go to church to hear God’s Word and receive Holy Communion.

Michael Lockwood shows that God’s use of the Law—for Christians as well as for non-Christians—includes the sufferings of life that destroy our self-sufficiency, which is the root of all idolatry. His book is full of practical suggestions for pastoral care and evangelistic outreach and will be an enormously helpful resource for pastors.

Luther’s reading of the First Commandment interlocks with his catechetical exposition of the Apostles’ Creed. Michael Lockwood has provided an attentive reading of Luther’s theology while drawing out insights for a robust and engaging apologetic in our culture populated by idols fabricated by the self-justifying mind. This is a book that will be appreciated not only by Luther scholars and missiologists, but also by pastors and ordinary Christians seeking to sharpen their confession of Christ in today’s world.

In The Unholy Trinity, Michael Lockwood eschews simple causes and facile explanations of the problem of idolatry in the individual and society and takes a deeper and more systemic approach to the issue. Lockwood presents multiple examples from Luther’s teaching as well as other contemporary authors. An advantage to his perspective is that being Australian as well as a pastor and scholar, he is able to observe American culture as a relative outsider, yet he has done the work and lived in the USA enough to make a fair assessment and bring to bear solutions to actual issues and problems. In so doing, he succeeds in making the issue of both idolatry and its cure in the Gospel of Jesus Christ relevant to the work of today’s pastors, missionaries, laity, and theologians alike.

In two ways, Michael Lockwood has done us all a great service: he has rendered a fundamentally important theme in Luther’s theology accessible, and he’s shown us why it matters. In nine, deeply researched and highly readable chapters, Dr. Lockwood not only describes Luther’s analysis of idolatry, but he also explains how idolatry functions. For Luther, idolatry is false faith. It’s a lethal trust in the wrong thing in the wrong way. Luther didn’t regard idolatry as misplaced philosophy, with merely academic consequences, but as a deadly peril because of what it actually does. Functionally, idolatry unseats faith in each of the persons of the Godhead, replacing it with a counterfeit trust, not just in “god” generically, but by creating a bogus equivalent of each person. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are each and all supplanted, by “me, myself and I.” Michael Lockwood’s writing is saturated with Luther in the best possible way. He shows not only what Luther said in the past, but why it’s important to keep hearing it in the present. This volume is not just an important contribution to Luther studies, it’s a seminal book for understanding the distinctive work of Christian ministry and the uniqueness of the Christian Gospel.

—Rev. Dr. Noel Due
Ministry and Mission Support Pastor
Lutheran Church of Australia, SA/NT District

How does a preacher best commend the Christian faith to people who have no need for the Gospel, let alone any desire to participate in the Divine Service? Dr. Lockwood provides us with a diagnostic tool for effective proclamation by his excellent analysis of Luther’s teaching on human idolatry and the impact of its delusive claims. Luther held that the cause of idolatry lay in the mistrust of God and his Word. The human heart relies on its own idols, rather than God’s Word, to secure, justify, and empower itself. It replaces the triune God with the unholy trinity of Me, Myself, and I. These idols are debunked and destroyed by the proclamation of God the Father who loves us and provides for us, God the Son who justifies us and gives us access to the Father in the Divine Service, and God the Holy Spirit who enlightens and empowers us spiritually through his Word. This thoroughly biblical, culturally relevant study is a joy to read.

Saint Augustine spoke of idolatry as worshiping anything that ought to be used, or using anything that is meant to be worshiped. John Calvin spoke of the human mind as a perpetual forge of idols, daring to imagine a god suited to its own capacity. And now we have mighty Luther, who shares the stance of Augustine and Calvin, but whose many statements on idolatry have never before been gathered together or considered in such a substantial, accessible, and pastorally fruitful manner. In carefully drawing out Luther’s triune-shaped theology of idolatry and applying it to the contemporary scene, Dr. Lockwood reminds us of at least two realities. First, five hundred years after sparking the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther is still to be studied with great profit. Second, each of us is an idolater at heart and in need of the liberating love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Given the light that is shed upon Luther’s theology as a whole and the fact that readers will find themselves pointed afresh to Christ and the Gospel, I truly hope this helpful and stimulating volume will be read by many within (and well beyond) evangelical Lutheranism.

Today, secularism is seen as social policy, agnosticism and atheism appear to be respectable, and the ranks of the “nones” are swelling, while indifference to religious views and affiliations grows. So at first glance, idolatry is an unpromising topic for the church’s life and witness. But, as Michael Lockwood shows, a deeper look at idolatry, especially through the eyes of Martin Luther, is revealing and compelling. Tying together many strands and uncovering varied connections in Luther’s thought on false gods, Lockwood presents a rich trinitarian account of idolatry and uses it to uncover and overcome the idols hiding in plain sight today.